RESTON, VIRGINIA -- My story of trying to get my Batman: Arkham Origins Pre-Order: Firstly, let me state that I fully understand that mistakes happen. The imperfect human condition means that no person, company, or system will ever operate without at least a few hiccups. However, it seems to me that Best Buy’s atrocious handling of the shipping issues that have impacted the delivery of pre-orders for the PC version of the new Batman: Arkham Origins game goes far beyond the “unexpected error” realm and into the arena of utter incompetence in business operations. Here is my short story of trying to procure my pre-order:

I pre-ordered a copy of the PC version of Batman: Arkham Origins several weeks prior to the game’s release. My order was processed on Bestbuy.com and I requested store pickup at the company’s Reston, VA location (Store #297). I received an email confirmation one day prior to the game’s release date indicating that my order would be ready for store pickup the following day. At this point, Bestbuy.com also indicated that my order had arrived at the store and instructed me to pick up my order as soon as possible.

The following day (October 25th) I drove to Best Buy Store #297 to pick up my order as instructed. I did not go to the store until later in the day - around 7:00PM. When I arrived at the store and provided the clerk with my order information and confirmation email, I was given nothing more than a puzzled look. Store staff proceeded to ignore my presence for about 30 minutes whilst various employees looked through their computer systems, paper records, and physical store shelves.

I was given no information regarding what was going on and was simply forced to wait until someone returned to speak with me. I ultimately got the impression that the store staff was simply waiting for me to become frustrated and leave as they eventually gave up on trying to locate my item and went about completing other tasks and helping other customers. I eventually had to re-approach the employee to whom I had initially spoken upon entering the store to inquire why no one had returned with my order.

He simply stated that my order could not be found and no one had any idea where it might be located. Ultimately, the best that the store could muster was to take down my phone number on a sticky note - they indicated that they would call me if my order showed up on a truck the following week. For the record, I have not heard anything back from Store #297 to this day.

After returning home from the store and reviewing my confirmation email, I became concerned about my ability to pick up the game from the store if it arrived the following week. I was scheduled to be out of town on business during the next week (i.e. this past week) and as such I would not be available to retrieve the item from the store. This worried me as my confirmation email indicated that my order would be cancelled and forfeited if I did not pick it up within 8 days after it had arrived at the store. Given that Best Buy’s systems were indicating that my order was ready for pickup, I could foresee problems looming in the near future and thus reached out to Best Buy via their customer service phone line.

After explaining my situation to a very disinterested-sounding phone representative and having little success in terms of getting him to understand my problem, I asked to speak with a supervisor. After waiting on hold for a protracted period, I was eventually able to speak with a customer service supervisor on the phone. After explaining my situation to the supervisor, she ultimately indicated that all she could do was to “suspend” my order in her system. She indicated that “suspending” the order would prevent it from being automatically cancelled by the system and thus would assure that my order would be held at Store #297 until I returned to town and was able to visit the store.

Additionally, she noted that I would need to call back prior to picking up my order as it would need to be “unsuspended” by a phone agent before the staff at Store #297 could release my order to me. I agreed that this arrangement sounded fine and the supervisor further indicated that she would immediately send me a $30.00 gift card due to the trouble with my order. I thanked the supervisor and, after reconfirming that my order would not be cancelled (I adamantly wanted to ensure that I received the pre-order bonuses to which I was entitled), ended my phone conversation.

I then proceeded to wait throughout the week to see if I received a phone call from Store #297 indicating that my order was ready for pickup. As I previously indicated, no call ever came from anyone on Best Buy’s end. During this time, I ignored repeated automated emails from Bestbuy.com indicating that my order was awaiting pickup and in danger of cancellation. Researching the issue online, I ultimately discovered a post on this forum (from **) indicating that store pickup pre-orders for the PC version of this game would not arrive in-store until “around November 2nd”. Given this information, I decided to simply wait until I received confirmation that my order is ready for pickup.

I returned home this weekend and have since continued to wait for a communication from Best Buy to confirm when I would be able to retrieve my order from the store. I have received no such information to date via any channel. Rather, even after going to great lengths earlier in the week to assure that my order would not be auto-cancelled by Best Buy’s terrible order systems, I received an email from Bestbuy.com this evening indicating that my order has been cancelled and is no longer available.

It is simple astounding to me - my much-awaited and paid-for pre-order has been lost, supposedly due to my lack of timeliness in picking up my order, even before the store actually received the product that I was seeking. Just to add insult to injury, I have also not received the $30.00 gift card that I was promised as compensation for my troubles. A simply incredible display of stupidity, carelessness, and disregard!

Overall, I want to make it clear that my primary complaint against Best Buy is not the shipping delay that impacted their stores’ ability to fill pre-orders, but rather the company’s complete inability to effectively respond to and remediate the issue. It is just ridiculous to think that the company’s order fulfillment systems are so broken that they cannot manually suppress automated emails with incorrect information, update order statuses on customers’ accounts, or prevent orders from being automatically cancelled when the product is not yet even available for pickup!

Perhaps even worse, why is it that Best Buy’s store, phone, and web support personnel are not able to get on the same page in terms of being aware of the situation and providing the customer with a consistent picture of how the problem will be solved? My question for the BBY forum moderators is this: why should I (or anyone for that matter) ever attempt to order anything from Bestbuy.com or one of the firm’s brick-and-mortar locations again?

Why is it that Best Buy’s order fulfillment systems have now automatically cancelled Arkham Origins PC pre-orders? Is no one at Best Buy competent enough to override the automatic 8-day store pickup window given the shipping issue and the fact that the orders are still not ready for pickup? THIS IS INSANE! Despite the fact that I received an email earlier this week confirming that my order would remain valid until picked up at the store (i.e. when it eventually arrives), my order was cancelled this weekend due to “non-pickup”. How can I pick up my order if the store does not have it?

I visited the store earlier today and was told that they know nothing of the problem and that there is nothing that they can do. They tried to sell me a copy off of the shelf, but this is completely unsatisfactory and I pre-ordered the game and insist upon receiving the product that I was promised (including all pre-order bonus materials - case, codes, etc.).

A further even more infuriating update. I just spoke with a supervisor from 1-888-BEST-BUY. He informed me that at this point there is nothing that Best Buy can do - my order has been cancelled and I will NEVER receive all of the bonus materials that I was promised. He went as far to quote the Bestbuy.com terms and conditions that Best Buy reserves the right to cancel orders at any time and for any reason. WHAT KIND OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THIS?

Even worse, I was told that because the steelbook case is in the mail being shipped directly to me, this “partial order” was still valid and I will be charged $50.00 for the case alone! What?!?!? I never agreed to pay $50.00 for a case! All that he could offer me was to place a new order for the regular version of the game and discount the price to offset the cost of the steelbook alone.

This is completely contrary to what I was told in the store today by the MoD (he assured me that I would not be charged for the cancelled order even though I would still receive the case via USPS). The phone supervisor simply shrugged this off and informed me that, “Best Buy stores have no idea how our online services operate.” COMPLETE INSANITY!

Is this company so siloed at the corporate level that they cannot even handle a simple pre-order shipping error? Ultimately, what Best Buy has done is cheated me out of the product that I ordered, charged me $50.00 for a product that was explicitly listed as free on their website, gone against their written word that their shipping woes would not affect the delivery of my product, and finally committed bait and switch in sending me the regular version of the game with no discount to speak of contrary to my confirmed order. This is the absolute last time I ever do business with Best Buy and everyone that I know will hear this story!

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Poor Service Turns in to Theft of Cellular Phone

Posted by Terry on 07/20/2013

Rating: 2/51

OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA -- On the morning of July 4th my 8-year old son and I went to Best Buy Mobile at the Oceanside Shopping Mall. We were there to purchase two pre-paid cell phones (one for him and one for his brother). The Assistant Store Manager ** was helpful, but seemed very uninformed as she struggled through every step of helping us. Our concern was finding a phone that would work for calls and text and limited internet as they would always have access to WiFi.

After about 45 minutes she convinced us that Boost Mobile was the best option for us. We selected two phones (Samsung Galaxy and a Kyocera Aqua). We were told that the Samsung would get us a $50 Best Buy gift card and that it would cost $55 to activate each phone and get one month's service. After another 45 minutes to get them activated we left with two phones that we had tested in the store.

Upon getting home my sons realize that the phones are getting no service at all. Not a single bar and calls cannot be completed and texts are failing to be sent. I do some research, find that Boost Mobile is using Sprint cell towers, and I had previously known that we were in a Sprint Dead Zone. In order to use Sprint in my area (Vista, CA) you need to have what is called an AirRade that Sprint will sell you and charge $10 per month to basically use you at home internet to get a cell signal. I called Boost, I called Best Buy and neither could really help because this is listed as a covered area for Boost.

After two days I attempted to use the $50 Best Buy gift card that I had been given and was told it had never been activated (there was no mention of it on the receipt either). Called Best Buy again and they confirmed the card had never been activated. I was so frustrated at this point that I wanted to return both phones. Unfortunately, my youngest son had decided that he would just use the Kyocera as a game, so we kept that one.

On July 12th I returned the Samsung to the Oceanside Best Buy. I had been told by Boost that I could get a refund for the phone as well as the $55 that had been paid to activate the phones and that the people at Best Buy would deactivate the phone and handle that. When I arrived at Best Buy I was told that I could ONLY get a refund for the phone and the extended warranty, but not the activation. I was told I would have to go back to the store that sold me the phone to do that. I asked that he be sure to deactivate the phone and he said he would do that.

I called over to that store and the Assistant Manager who had sold me the phones was NOT in, but I was told that they COULD NOT issue refunds for the activation anyway. On the evening of July 12th at 9:28pm I decided to call the phone number to see that it had been deactivated and to my surprise someone answered the phone. When I asked who it was using the phone, the person hung up. It sounded suspiciously like the person who had issued the refund to me, who also said he was a Boost Mobile customer.

On the morning of July 13th at 10:05am I called the Best Buy Store in Oceanside and spoke to an assistant manager named **. I explained the situation, he said he would look into it and get back to me later that day. Between July 13th and July 19th I made two more calls to the phone number and both were again answered. One by a woman and one by a man.

Let me preface this by saying that I am a long time and loyal customer of Best Buy. I have spent no less than $5000 per year at Best Buy for the last 5 years or so. My wife spends as much as $10000 per month at Best Buy for business related items. She spends so much that she has a personal sales representative from Best Buy who delivers her orders to her IT department. I have never previously had a bad experience with Best Buy.

On July 19th I called Best Buy corporate and spoke to a woman named ** and a "case number" was issued. She said during the call that she would put me on hold and contact the store manager to see what could be done to trace the phone. She returned and said that she would need more time and that she would call me back TODAY in the morning. So far no call, but the phone is no longer active.

I would really like Best Buy to explain why I should be held responsible for the $55 activation and service fee on a phone that was purchased under the advice of an Assistant Store Manager. Further I would like to have explained to me how a phone that I returned was still being used a week after I had returned it. Seems to me a cut and dry case of internal theft or misappropriation by one of the Best Buy employees. They are using the service that I have been told could not be refunded.

UPDATE: July 20th. I received a call from ** at corporate today (on a Saturday) and she stated that ** (the assistant manager at the Oceanside store where the phone had been returned) had found the phone in the correct bin and properly sealed. He also stated that he had reviewed the video and found the person who had answered the phone and that they were being "counseled".

This does not explain the fact that the phone was again answered two days later, and again on the fifth day after being returned. I find it interesting that the phone was NOT deactivated yesterday when I called corporate, but today it is. Still no offer to issue a refund (or even a store credit) for the $55 for the activation.

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Best Buy = Biggest Disappointment Epic FAIL

Posted by Jamesmakowski on 12/29/2012

Rating: 1/51

MADISON HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN -- First, I would like to state that I have always loved Best Buy. When I was a kid for me going to Best Buy was like going to Toys R Us for other kids, and when going there I always felt like a kid on Christmas morning. This love has been going on since Best Buy was opened close to 15+ years ago. I love how they are set up, their selection, the aesthetics of the displays and just about everything in regards to the store.

Unfortunately, that was until my unfortunate experience yesterday. I purchased a VSS4000 StartSmart remote start unit for my 2012 Mazdaspeed 3. I wanted the 3000, but the Geek Squad installers told me that only the 4000 would work with my car, OK $100 more. Installation was supposed to be included in the price, but they tacked on another $130 for the install, plus parts, so my $300 unit with installation ended up costing me $590. Wow, but OK, I thought it was worth it, it was a Christmas present from my girlfriend to me, and I figured just get it and be done with it.

I set an appointment and was told they would need the car for 5.5 hours. Darn, but ok, take all day just do it right, right? Not so. I had to take an hour off work to drop off the car, had to arrange for transportation back to work, and then arrange for transportation from work to get the car. No problem, all day I was so happy I was finally going to get my remote start to keep me warm in the winter.

I dropped the car off at 10 AM, and told them I would be back at 7.30 PM. I get a call a little after 4, everything is going great, and they need my info so that I can set up the service plan from Viper to be able to send a signal to the car. I set up the plan and paid $113 for 3 years of service. At 6.40 PM I get a call stating "sorry, no can do, we had the car apart, we're on the phone with tech support for 3 hours and it just won't work." So, after all day of being happy and impatient to get my Christmas present installed, you can imagine my disappointment.

Best Buy was good enough not to haggle over a refund, but that does not include the $113 I spent for the service plan from Viper. I still have to waste my time trying to get that refunded. Also, the $600 I paid at Best Buy was refunded to my debit card, so the funds will be on hold for whom knows how many days. Of course, I asked to speak to a manager regarding the problem, hoping that for my trouble and their incompetence I would be compensated with at the very least a small gift card for $25 saying sorry, at the best a $100 gift card.

The manager came, and already had a look on his face like he was eating dirt. I explained my problem to him, and the entire time he was not only anti-sympathetic, but he was actually a jerk about the whole thing. I explained to him what happened, and he told me, "well we did all we could." I asked him, "why was I sold something that would not work in my car, made to waste my time, take time off work, have someone waste time taking me to the place, have my car taken apart, have to now fight with Viper for a service plan refund, all for nothing?"

The manager actually smirked at me and said, "What do you want me to do? It's not our fault/problem." I asked what went wrong, why did this happen, and how can we make it work. His reply, "I don't know". Even a mediocre manager would 1) sympathize with my problem, 2) try to resolve it or provide steps to get the problem resolved, 3) minimally compensate me for their ineptitude and failure to understand the product. I never thought I would say this, but Best Buy = Epic Failure in product knowledge, management and customer experience.

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Won't even meet Manufacturer's Warranty, let alone fulfill PSP

Posted by Lindsey on 06/10/2010

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA -- 6/5/2010: I am writing in regard to unpleasant customer service experiences had at store 232 on East Washington Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. The whole issue revolves around the replacement of an Apple IPOD, covered under the Performance Service Plan for CPU & Wireless products.

Obviously, my white IPOD was broken. It was brought to the store on 5/17/2010. Upon inspection of my clearly broken IPOD, I was told by management staff to go pick a new replacement IPOD in store. I did as instructed and returned to the customer service area where I was met by yet another manager who informed me that no, they would not swap it out, and no I wouldn't get it fixed today. In fact, they would send it to their Service center so that it could be repaired. I agreed and the item was sent out. We'll call this lovely lady **.

About two days later I received a call that my item had arrived at the store. Upon arrival I immediately noticed the box said "Refreshed by Best Buy" and noted the item color was black. I understand that the replacement items, per the service plan, are allowed to be refurbished.

The problem at this point was that I had a white Apple IPOD, and now I have a black one. I compared the experience to buying a black car, and getting a green one as a replacement. If I wanted a green car, I would have bought a green car in the first place. So ** who is apparently the only management staff EVER at Best Buy, reluctantly sent the IPOD back to the Service Center to be replaced with a white unit.

This time the IPOD was sent directly to my home. I opened this package, as I assumed that the Service Agreement had been fulfilled. After I'd opened the black box my "newly" refurbished IPOD was contained in, I noted that the "IPOD" had no Apple logos to be found. Now my $350 dollar "IPOD" is a generic MP3 player. I'm sure you can understand that in buying an Apple product, you are paying big money for that brand name.

So, I called store 232 and asked to speak with **. She had just walked in and apparently was headed to a meeting. So I left my name and phone number for her to give me a callback. This was at 10AM. By 4PM, I'd still not received a call from ** or anyone from the store. So, I called back assuming that her meeting was over, only to find that ** was on lunch. Awesome. So I waited around for her call, which came at around 5:30PM.

** informed me that not only had the service plan had been fulfilled, but that she would no longer speak to me about his particular matter. In fact, she would only speak with my father, whose name the service plan is in. Apparently, ** forgot that Service Plans are transferable, so I had my father sign it over to me.

I found this pretty hilarious, as I've been dealing with her for the last 3 weeks and suddenly I'm no longer the customer. For all she knew, I used daddy's card to purchase my IPOD & I AM THE CUSTOMER. The way she treated me over the phone was absolutely inexcusable and if this is a reflection of Best Buy's customer service standards, then I will be glad to get this issue resolved and never return to Best Buy again.

Then, I went in store to give Best Buy store 232 one last chance to make this situation right. I waited for about 15 minutes at the customer service area for ** to stroll over. Immediately, she has a bad attitude. I brought Apple's Warranty with me to show her the contents, as she apparently was not familiar.

The PSP states "The Plan is inclusive of the manufacturer's warranty; it does not replace the manufacturer's warranty but provides certain additional benefits during the term of the manufacturer's warranty. After the manufacturer's warranty expires, this Plan continues to provide the manufacturer's benefits as well as certain additional benefits."

At this point, I haven't seen the PSP even meeting the manufacturer's coverage, let alone "adding certain additional benefits". Apple's warranty states that the "Warranty applies only for the hardware product manufactured by or for Apple that can be identified by the 'Apple' trademark, trade name, or logo annexed next to it" ( this warranty information can be found on Apple's website.).

All ** could say was that "the service plan had been fulfilled" and that according to her & the GM, there was nothing left to talk about. I literally had to say "Are you going to let me explain why I am here?" I have always kept my cool and kept my mouth shut and even let her be rude to me, but at this point I have had enough.

Firstly, a manager should never escalate the situation by being rude. In all my recollection, I have never had another staff member at Best Buy treat me poorly. ** is the exception to the rule. Not only would she not help me, but she refused to direct me to someone who could.

When I asked for the name of the district manager, she told me to call 1-888-BEST-BUY. I did, and was informed that they didn't have that information. As a member of Best Buy's management team, it is her job to uphold the highest customer service, and I would assume to achieve some customer satisfaction. She has done neither.

Later, I was in contact with a "Corporate supervisor" who I reached through the ever so helpful 1-800-BEST-BUY. ** who assigned me a case number ** seemed willing to help, but was unable to make the individual store "take a loss" by replacing or refunding my purchase. He got in contact with the store manager, who was told to call me that day. Of course, he didn't. So I called corporate back, and was met by yet another corporate supervisor. This person ever so politely told me that I should "write the CEO or get a lawyer." Thanks again Best Buy for yet another example of your extremely effective customer service. I also filed a complaint with the BBB, case number **.

Who do I need to contact to get good customer service? Fry's? Office Max? Office Depot? Wal-Mart? HH Greg? Staples? Target? There are countless retailers who would gladly take my business and treat me well. I would like to be contacted by someone who has the capability to take care of this issue in a professional manner.

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Communications and Customer Service Issues

Posted by RZPremierSilver on 01/27/2011

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK -- I was at this (Best Buy) Saratoga Springs, NY on Jan. 23, 2011. Overall experience was okay. Was given the option to update my address and spent about 4 min. doing so with the cashier. Next visit Jan. 27, 2011 the WORST experience ever with Best Buy.

Was looking for an item and a sales person ask us promptly if we needed help but had no knowledge about anything in the area. I had a RZ CERT so I went to the customer kiosk. Surprise, Surprise it would not print. So pulled the RZ CERT on my phone and was going to have the cashier type in the string of numbers. Came to the cashier and found out my address was not update from the last visit and the cashier said she couldn't type in the numbers because she was the only cashier (BTW there was one other person behind us, a BEST BUY employee with a soda). She then refused and sent us over to Customer Service.

After waiting about 8 min. in line the Customer Service lady said she could not do this. You can only imagine how much I loved the fact that you don't give a flip about my time. The lady said because of privacy issues she could not pull our information up. We ask her to, please, type in the numbers and knew it would work. After all of that I went back to the cashier to inform her you can type in the numbers from a RZ CERT. Not to be mean but to help with knowledge, oh no, she would not have it. "I am the only cashier so I can't do that, she can print out the RZ CERT."

So basically it's not that she couldn't she WOULDN'T. This store has no training in Customer Service and I am absolutely appalled by the fact you don't care about my time and money so why should I give you my money. I expect an apology for this outrageous behaviour. Dissatisfied customer.

Was working on 01/27/2011 at 13:20 (ALL THREE): The person (female) working as the ONLY Cashier had some serious attitude issues. It was that she couldn't help us it was that she wouldn't; the person (female) working as the ONLY Customer Service was unsure of things she could take care of but did tried; the person (female, has 10 yr old grandchild) over by external Hard Drives tried to help but was unsure so asked but the answer she gave you didn't carry it so we spent 10 minutes for something she recommend but didn't have.

OVERALL you have some serious Communications and Customer Service Issues!!!

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Could Not Return Wrong Product That Sales Associate Told Me to Buy

Posted by mysue2645 on 12/13/2014

Rating: 1/51

TEXAS -- Buyer beware, Best Buy has no integrity and I feel like I was taken advantage of and discriminated against because of my age. On the night of December 11, 2014, with the referral, recommendation and assurance of the sales associate in the electronics department at Best Buy # 203 in Austin, Texas, I purchased an Easy CD & Burning kit. I’m a senior citizen and my eyesight is not the best, so I depend on honorable and knowable sales people to give me trustworthy and accurate information. And at my age, every purchase is vital.

I must say I have never been misadvised by any other business sales staff or associates before. I have made purchases at Best Buy before, so I thought it was a company I could trust and depend upon for good honest customer service. Instead I was mislead and tricked into purchasing a product that did not meet my needs or perform the needed function that the sales associate said it could provide me that I needed. I told the sales people I needed a product that had capabilities to RIP a DVD. I was assured by more than one sales person even when I tried to take it back, that this product could RIP DVDs.

When I got home and tried to use the product It could not RIP DVDs, instead it only had capabilities to RIP CDs. The very next day I tried to take the product back but a different sales associate that day ** would not take it back, I and a friend of mine tried to explain that the only reason I bought this product is because the sales person referred it and assured me that this was what I needed and it could RIP a DVD.

If not for the information the sales person gave me I would not have purchased this product. It would have been more appropriate for him to tell me he did not know anything about the RIP process, then I would not have purchased this product. My friend wrote the names of all associate that were involved, but she lost the list of names.

I have come to the conclusion that there are two possibilities to this incident, either the sales people at Best Buy purposely mislead me to get a sale of $32.46 from me and take advantage of me and discriminate against me because of my age and other factors or the sales associates were not qualified or knowable about the department they were working or products to refer and give customers honest and trustworthy advice. My friend and I left very upset because the associate would not take any responsibility for mistakenly or purposely selling me something I could not use.

But after we left Best Buy, we went to Fry’s and the sales associates found the product I needed. And they also said since they referred the product to me, if it was not what I needed to just bring it back and they would gladly try to find something else or give me a refund with no problem.

I tried the product Fry’s referred for me to buy and it works well. Thank you Fry’s, not only do your sales associates know their products, they know about good customer care and business integrity. And for that reason I will not be shopping at Best Buy again. And I would advise anyone planning to go to Best Buy not to trust the sales associates. And this does prove it is at the company’s discretion whether to honor a return or not, policy has nothing to do with it. Best Buy has no integrity and I feel like I was taken advantage of and discriminated against because of my age.

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Worst Customer Service I Have Ever Seen, Please Close Your Doors

Posted by Jeremyscell82961 on 12/05/2014

Rating: 1/51

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Customer satisfaction, what is it and where has it gone? Oh that's right it went online. As a die hard techie I am finding myself spending money on gadgets more than I should, but where do I shop? I don't mind paying a little more just to receive excellent customer service, lately it's Amazon and Google Play that has given me the best service. When I have a question, they listen and answer and sometimes check up on you after the conversation. That is service!

Recently I decided to give my old favorite store another chance (mainly because they were the only ones selling my item). So I happily went into the Best Buy store here in Austin Texas and asked someone for assistance. I already knew what I wanted and knew everything about the device, so I only needed information regarding next shipment and availability. Never did I expect what was coming. I asked the LP (guys in yellow by the front) to check the system for me, he was nice and checked it and even gave me the direct line to the podium and when to call back, customer service at its finest.

So I called back when instructed to, only to have some angry person pick up and argue with me that he did not give me the number. So naturally the most important thing here is to get to the bottom of who gave me the number and info. I was like whatever, he may have been under the influence, I will let it slide. So I decided to avoid another uncomfortable call and go into the store.

I tried to find a salesperson (not hard to find as they all have blue shirts), but it seems that they were all busy running in a circle or something as they could not help me. I asked the LP guy to find me a salesperson to help me out, he said "no problem just wait over there, and I'll have someone here shortly". He did not ask what I wanted or anything, but in his defense he was in an interesting conversation with his friend and did not want to be bothered.

10 minutes later someone arrives, and I ask him to see if there are any items in the back, and if I can get a better view of the item on display. He had to leave to find out, as I stood there no one asked me if I needed help as they passed by and trust me I looked like I needed help. Already disappointed by the service, I continued to wait. Finally he returns with a NO and NO, we can't do that and we don't know when more will be here and walks off.

I did not leave very happy, instead they wasted over an hour of my day. So another day I vowed to only call and not show up at the store as I didn't leave very happy last time. I called and was on hold for about 20 minutes before the phone was transferred to someone who just ended the call without saying a word. As a techie I was thinking their phone system has a glitch, but I called again and again and same result. Maybe they wanted to leave early, who knows but I would never return to the store unless it's unavoidable.

Then one night I found they had it online (for a brief 15 minutes), so I purchased it and upgraded for expedited shipping. Needless to say I still haven't received the device, 2nd day air, I don't think so. My Amazon order that was placed the following day has already arrived. I wonder where I'm going to purchase my gadgets from next, here is a hint: it will never be Best Buy.

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Purchase Horror From Best Buy

Posted by ILYA on 02/26/2014

Rating: 1/51

PHILA, PENNSYLVANIA -- My experience is like a harrow story. I purchased for my disabled mom a compact washer and gas dryer unit online, but actually calling by phone. The customer service person did not know much about the unit, so I asked if it needs any accessories to connect the unit and then she remember and named one. After she gave me an appt. to deliver 3 weeks later. Finally the day came around for delivery. But when delivery team found out that the unit needs gas connection they informed my mom that they are not licensed to do that and left with the unit.

After spending an hour on the phone with Best Buy I was told that because it's a gas dryer they have to hire a different team and the person who took the order didn't know it was gas dryer. Can you understand that? She took the order for gas dryer, but she didn't know it was gas dryer.

Now I had to make another appt. and wait 5 more days. I called again Best Buy to confirm the order delivery and sales person informed me that I need 2 more accessories to buy for gas dryer, otherwise they couldn't connect the dryer. I asked to talk to supervisor and now because it an additional order and to make sure it will arrive together I was told to make appt. 7 days later and that there definitely will be a gas connecting team.

The day of delivery my mom was told again that they are not licensed to connect gas dryer and they did not have all accessories to connect anyway and they left again with the unit. One hour later the accessories arrived from Best Buy and the team felt bad for my mom decided to disconnect the old unit to get ready when the new unit will arrive and left.

I called Best Buy again and after 1 hour conversation had another delivery date 5 days later. Same day after the accessories delivery guy left at 1.30am I get a call from my mom who barely can walk telling me that she heard a pop as she hears water gushing noise and she doesn't know what to do. I got in the car with my husband and drove at 2am to mom's house 20 min each way.

When we got to the basement the water was pouring down from above the ceiling right where the old unit was disconnected. The water was never shut down. Now we have basement full of water, thank god it's not finished basement. At 3.30am we got home.

Finally the day of delivery came around again and nobody showed up. After 2 hours on the phone I was told that they tried to call, there was no answer and they left. I asked why nobody tried the doorbell? No answer to that. Now for the fourth time it should be delivered next day. I will keep you posted If it will arrive. Do you think I will buy from them again? I don't think so.

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Best Buy - Experience With Store Pick Up

Posted by Stanislav on 12/19/2013

Rating: 1/51

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- I ordered a Wii console with Wii Sport and Wii Sport Resort for 129.99 from the BestBuy.com for store pick up as a gift for my son's birthday. The next day I logged on to the site to check the order, only to find out that it was cancelled. No e-mail was sent to me, nor was I otherwise notified that my order was cancelled. I called customer service who could not even tell me why the order was cancelled. It was not in the computer, so they had no idea what happened and transferred me to another department.

After a while, almost 40 minutes on the phone, we found out that my order was sold at the store where it was supposed to wait for pick up. A lady in that department (manager as the regular worker did not even understand the situation) told me that I have to re-order the purchased item. As a courtesy for the inconvenience she gave a discount on the price and I ordered a new system for 100 dollars plus tax to be picked up in another store. She assured me that this will not happen again. I received a confirmation e-mail that my order is ready to be picked up at the store.

Three hours later I receive another e-mail stating that my order was cancelled due to credit card issues. I called customer service again. The person speaking to me tried to tell me that the problem was with the credit card; however the card was charged by the store and the money did not even return back to the account. I asked to speak with her supervisor and she dropped the call. She just hanged up on me.

I called back and after about 30 minutes was able to speak with the supervisor. Again my order was re-sold at the store where I was supposed to pick it up. She said she was sorry, but the item was not available anymore. Nothing could be done so I ended up without my order (not to mention courtesy discount). Maybe all these cancellations were done so I would not get my discount? In the end I purchased the system from GameStop.com, so my son would have his gift.

So couple of days after the GameStop purchase I wanted to shop for some games for Wii. I went to BestBuy.com and tried making a purchase of MarioKart game. Made a purchase and immediately received an e-mail that my order was cancelled, followed by a confirmation of sale e-mail. I tried ordering it three times and three times I received cancelled e-mail.

So the bottom line is during this purchasing experience my orders were re-sold by multiple stores. I was never notified of the first cancellation. BestBuy customer service lied to me, kept me on hold for over 2 hours (combined), made promises that were never fulfilled and in the end were not able to resolve any issues. The site is useless for purchasing as it does not allow to buy anything. Forget about Bestbuy and go to another store.

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How to Lose a Long Term Customer over $160

Posted by John on 05/28/2013

Rating: 1/51

CORPORATE, MINNESOTA -- Is it any wonder that Best Buy is headed out of business?!? As a 20+ year customer who has bought tens or thousands of dollars in electronics from this national chain, I just experienced their decision to discard my patronage over $150 in warranty coverage, brilliant! In October 2011 I purchased the new iPhone 4s the day it was released. Rather than purchasing through AT&T as with previous iPhones, I decided to give BB a try at their Palm Beach Gardens Florida store.

The representative at the store talked me into purchasing the 2-year warranty coverage on the phone by comparing their coverage to what AT&T offered. He explicitly explained than compared to the carrier's coverage, BB would replace the phone due to any damage if you simply brought it into any store in any condition (damaged, waterlogged, whatever). He specifically stated that as long as it was not lost, the phone would be replaced with a new one. Guess I should have questioned further the validity of that sales pitch (don't tell me these guys don't have some type of incentive or quota to sell warranties!), but for 18 months I had no issues.

Then on a trip back to Florida in April I dropped my phone and broke the front glass. Since I was flying back to my new home in Idaho the next day, I took it in to get a replacement phone. What I experienced was the "Best Buy Shuffle", shuffling the customer off to the Geek Squad or off to the 800 number without any interest whatsoever in solving the customer's problem.

My "replacement" warranty that I was sold turned out to be a 3-day send it out refurbishment program that required coming back to the store to pick it up. Being nowhere near a BB store in Idaho, I needed a solution right then and there. After much "shuffling" that store and another Orlando BB store the next day, the district Mobile manager the next day said "no way" to a replacement phone. The solution I then found was a two-hour glass replacement at a strip mall repair facility before my flight.

Upon demanding a refund of the misrepresented warranty coverage, I was told that all they could do was cancel my warranty coverage and give me a pro-rated refund. After hours of talking to various corporate departments at the agent and supervisor level, this heretofore loyal customer was told the best they could do to keep my business was a $75 gift certificate. Once again BB attempts to cover their sales tactics by negotiating with enticements back to their stores, very transparent.

In explaining to the last corporate customer relationship representative I spoke with that they were about to lose my future business over this refusal to refund a warranty that was not used, he took a combative stance explaining that I was the one making the decision not to shop at BB in the future, not them. Who is the customer and who is the vendor? Do they think they are bestowing a privilege to let me pay them thousands of dollars for electronics?!?

Now I want to highlight my experience to the Wall Street analysts that cover BB and the BB board members. Perhaps Mr. Joly needs to hear how his policies are losing his failing consumer electronics warehouse firm loyal customers such as myself while negatively influencing my family members and friends. What is the old saying "Good news travels fast, bad news travels at the speed of light"?